The journey begins

It had been three days since Hatty Holiday, daughter of Queen Ursula Holiday, was torn from her mother's arms and abandoned in the Forgotten Forest by the Red Warriors. The wounds across her back from where the Red Warriors had tied her down so tightly on their journey to the forest, still burned and she desperately worried for the safety of her mother. She cowered amongst the huge roots of a Groaner tree and cried. Her eyes felt sore and swollen, her lips dry. The only water she had managed to drink was from the heavy rainfall the previous night. She was too scared to leave the safety of her tree – who knew what was out there, waiting to feast on her young, meaty flesh?

A shrill, sharp cry echoed through the trees above her and was repeated by a similar cry further away. Hatty gasped and grabbed hold of her muddy legs, making herself as small as possible. She tucked her head in behind her knees and closed her eyes. She had been hearing the cries a lot since she arrived, especially after dark and she had no idea what they could be coming from. One thing was for sure, they weren't coming from anything that was likely to give her a hug and point her in the direction of home. Nothing was likely to be that friendly in this forest.

Behind the safety of her eyelids, Hatty thought about her mother. She was Queen and ruler of the Grass Land; the only area in the whole of Second England to still be fertile enough for crops to grow on. It was the most precious and wanted soil in all the land. Without a Queen to lead them, Hatty knew that her people would be vulnerable to Red Warrior attack and the precious land would be destroyed. She knew that the only way to save her people, was to save her mother.

Hatty had a gift which was passed down to her from her Grandmother. Her mother called it her 'sight'. It only happened at times of great stress, when Hatty was worrying about something, but when it did, Hatty had no control over what she saw, or when. It had happened the night before as she drifted off to sleep under a bed of damp leaves. As she began to dream, an image of her mother burst through. She was sat beneath a large red rock and her long golden hair hung loose, covering her face as she peered down into a pool of still, black water. Her body trembled and Hatty realised that she was crying. Tears gently plopped onto the pool of water beneath her, making soft ripples. She slowly lifted her face to the moonlight and closed her eyes.

"Help me somebody", she whispered. "Help my people, help my land, but most importantly, help my daughter to be strong." The sight then faded into darkness and Hatty awoke to soft morning light.

The sight had given Hatty a new hope. She had seen her mother and so knew that she was still alive. Her mother had told her to be strong. She would listen to those words. It was now or never – she had to start her journey through the Forgotten Forest. She had to start her journey to save her mother.

Goblin run

Hatty had only been alive for fourteen short years, but in that time she had heard many stories about the Forgotten Forest. Some people said that it was called the Forgotten Forest because most who entered it were never seen again and eventually, forgotten. Some people said that it was because it was so dangerous and uninhabitable that it might as well be forgotten. Her Grandmother had told her stories of brave warriors venturing into the forest and coming back after only an hour, reduced to tears like a small child and never speaking another word as long as they lived. Hatty would usually giggle at these far-fetched tales. Today however, Hatty wasn't in the laughing mood.

She left the safety of her Groaner tree about an hour after the sun rose. She had gathered as many mushrooms and edible green roots as she could find around her shelter and stuffed them into her pockets. She wasn't sure how plentiful the supply would be on her journey into the forest and her stomach was already growling.

It was a wet day that day and Hatty had to keep stopping to wipe the rain from her eyes and push back her long dark hair which was now dripping wet. After walking for about ten minutes, Hatty stopped for a rest and a mushroom – that was when she noticed the first Goblin following her. It was from the corner of her eye that she caught a glimpse of it as it dived behind a bush. She froze for a second, dropping her breakfast and then took a few steps forward, hoping that it would scurry away. As she moved, she noticed another two – there was one to her left, another to her right, and the last in the canopy of trees above. The one above wasn't as cautious as the others and it seemed to make no attempt to hide its presence as it boldly leaped from branch to branch. It looked a lot bigger too. 

They were strange looking creatures – small (about the size of a large rabbit) with bottle-green, leathery skin which reflected the sunlight, making them seem to flash as they moved. They had long skinny legs and arms, and small round heads with beady little black eyes. Their mouths stretched from ear to ear in a permanent grin which reviled a crooked set of tiny sharp yellow teeth. Hatty had never come across a Goblin in the wild before, she had only heard about them in her Grandmother's stories, and so she wasn't sure how to react. She stopped once more and bit her lip. The Goblins' froze as well. The one above her stretched down from its back legs and dangled two feet above her head, as if waiting to be petted. Its beady black eyes locked onto Hatty's and then narrowed. It made a low growling noise from the back of its throat. Hatty's heart thumped hard in her chest and she could feel her palms grow moist as she weighed up her options. She had no idea how dangerous these creatures were, but their teeth looked sharp – the kind which are usually used to tear open meat – and her instincts told her that they were hungry. She reached down into her pocket and slowly pulled out a mushroom. Above her, the Goblin's eyes flicked from the mushroom and back again. A thin black tongue snaked out from between its teeth and tasted the air around it like a snake. Hatty raised her arm towards it and offered him the mushroom. Her hand was trembling. From beside her, the other two Goblins were beginning to creep out from behind their trees and crawl closer. She felt surrounded. It was then that the Goblin above her leaped from his branch, onto her back and snatched the mushroom from her fingers. Hatty yelped in surprise and it dropped to the floor, tearing the mushroom open with it's sharp teeth. The other two Goblins squealed with excitement and scurried over to share its meal. The meal wasn't enough for all three and soon they began fight, tearing chunks of flesh from each other with their long claws. Screams and growls echoed through the trees. Hatty took her opportunity to run.

Hatty ran until her legs throbbed and her throat burnt. She was certain that she had lost the Goblins on the way. She stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a huge dead tree. Her heart felt like it was going to leap from her chest. She felt sick with adrenaline. She rested her forehead against the rough wood of the tree and closed her eyes. As she opened them and turned round, her mouth fell open and she screamed. She was surrounded by about twenty hungry Goblins. Twenty long black tongues twitched and flicked between rows and rows of sharp yellow teeth. They slowly crept forward, eyes narrowed and locked on Hatty's. She stepped back, pressing her back and palms against the dead tree. She could feel its damp moss beneath her fingers. She was waiting for the first one to lunge at her, to rip her open like a soft mushroom. Beads of sweat trickled down her face.
"No, please!" she cried.

Hatty felt a crunch beneath her palms and the rotten tree trunk caved in behind her. She stumbled backwards, into the tree. She braced myself, expecting to land in a heap on the floor, but she kept falling. The tree trunk was replaced by air and the light was replaced by darkness. Hatty fell through the air for what felt like forever, and finally crashed into a pool of freezing water beneath the ground.

Unknown waters

The pool was deep and ice cold. As her head resurfaced, Hatty gasped for breath and desperately kicked her legs, reaching out for the muddy bank beside her. Her mouth filled up with gritty water, it ran down her throat and out of her nose. She coughed and spluttered, thrashing her legs harder and grasping hold of a thick vine. She clung hold of it and heaved her body out of the cold water. Her legs and arms trembled as she lay on a bank of mud and rotting plants. The smell was putrid. It was an overpowering smell of death. Hatty rolled over and spat out the bile which had risen to her throat. She gazed up at the hole that she had fallen from. It looked so far away and was surrounded by a web of tree roots which snaked and weaved in and out of the thick earth above. Roots hung down from the dark earthy ceiling like snakes. She was in some kind of underground cavern. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she realised just how vast it was. It stretched as far as her eyes could see, with a plethora of deep black pools of water which snaked and twisted around mounds of rotting vines and earth.

Hatty sat up with a yelp as she realised that the mound she was lying on was moving beneath her. Her voice echoed, making her jump again. Something was pushing its way out of the wet mud. She scrambled to her feet and edged backwards to the waters edge. Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle, sending her splaying to the ground. Its grip tightened and it began to pull her back into the cold water. Hatty kicked her legs wildly and desperately clawed at the ground, trying to grip onto anything which would stop her from being pulled into the murky depths. She managed to cling onto a weed and eventually the thing loosened its grip, enabling her to kick it off. She pulled herself back onto the mound and gasped. Bursting their way through the rotten leaves and mud were hundreds of huge green slugs. These were not your everyday garden slugs either; these slugs were a foot long, as thick as a soup can and donned three rows of razor sharp teeth at either end of their sticky, pulsating bodies. They lifted their heads' off of the ground and appeared to be smelling the air, following the scent directly towards Hatty. They squirmed and wriggled across the ground, leaving a network of thick yellow gunge.

Hatty had a choice to make; did she fight off the slugs or did she jump into the water once more and face whatever creature had grabbed her leg? Slugs continued to emerge from the soil, making it look like a huge breathing belly. Hatty’s heart raced as she watched the slugs move closer. She peered around the cavern, looking for a way out. She could see a small crack in the cavern wall next to the neighboring mound, which looked big enough for her to squeeze through – maybe it led out? It meant that she would have to chance the water and whatever lurked below. The ground beneath Hatty's foot moved and a slug pushed its way out from between her legs. Its body brushed against Hatty's ankle leaving a long trail of slime. It burned! Hatty jumped back and instinctively stuck her ankle into the cold water, washing off the corrosive slime. The choice had been made, she had to swim across. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pushed herself into the deep pool once more.

Check back soon as Hatty's adventure continues...

 Click 'Follow' below to be notified when a new chapter has been submitted.

(last updated on 20th Jan 2011)